


The Positive Explanation

by Yana



Category: Power Rangers Dino Charge
Genre: Insecurity, M/M, Not Actually Unrequited Love, Pining, Unrequited Love
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-04-04
Updated: 2020-04-04
Packaged: 2021-03-01 02:21:14
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,636
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23477653
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Yana/pseuds/Yana
Summary: The incident with the Dino Cupid Charger happened with a little twist to it and it leaves an insecure Riley with a lot of doubts.
Relationships: Riley Griffin/Chase Randall
Comments: 7
Kudos: 85





	The Positive Explanation

**Author's Note:**

> I have too much time at home now, so I’m rereading my old fics. This one was only waiting to be published, it needed just some editing.

“The first person Chase sees he'll fall in love with!”

Chaos was a poor word to describe what went down on that end of the table. The rangers pushed each other to every direction until they could take cover, each ducking their heads not to be seen by their friend hit by the Dino Cupid Charger.

Well, everyone except…

Riley was in the unfortunate situation of being pushed against the table, the top of it pressing hard into his stomach. And he couldn’t crouch down because Koda or Tyler or Ivan or all three of them were pressing against his legs and there was no way to bend his knees.

“Guys!” He called out to them, but froze when he heard Chase taking a sharp breath.

Riley glanced there carefully. Chase wasn’t looking at him. He was still facing the sink, eyes closed, one hand rubbing his forehead as he groaned out in discomfort.

“Damn…”

His eyes were open now and he was turning towards—

Riley turned down his head and shut his eyes tight. It wasn’t specifically stated in which way one should see the other they would fall in love with. Maybe it was all about eye contact. Or maybe he was only holding on to every bit of hope he could find. Because how bad it would be if Chase saw him and suddenly felt those emotions caused by a Charger, right?

_Right?_

There was a cold spot somewhere in his chest that spread out to every bit of his body. Because it would be awful, right? Artificial emotions lasting who knew how long while the real and completely different emotions would be pushed down. Who would want any of that? Emotions should be real. Earned.

_Reciprocated._

Riley’s fingers curled up and as he did his nails scratched the top of the table. He was glad it was made out of stainless steel and not wood. He didn’t know how he would’ve explained it later to Ms Morgan. _‘Sorry, Ms Morgan, I clawed into the table out of emotional frustration’_?

“What’s wrong?”

Riley’s head shot up. Chase was looking at him with a deep frown, honest concern in his eyes. Riley was so taken aback by it at first that he forgot what kind of situation they were in.

“No, nothing.” He quickly shook himself mentally. “Do you feel anything different?”

Chase raised a brow, still watching Riley.

“No? Should I?”

This answer made the others to finally stand up, all exchanging looks, eyes turning from Chase to Riley and back again. There was maybe a hint of disappointment, but Riley wasn’t really sure about that. He was probably just seeing things.

“It didn’t work?” Shelby shook her Morpher and the Dino Cupid Charger fell out into her palm, looking faded, powerless.

“Did what not work?” Chase asked, stepping closer to look into Shelby’s hand.

“The Dino Cupid Charger! I accidentally hit you with a blast.” She leaned a little closer, observing every part of Chase’s face with narrowed eyes, like she could find some kind of answer there. “Do you really not feel anything different?”

“Nope” Chase answered as he leaned away, crossing his arm before his chest. “Maybe it was already drained when you attempted to shoot me.”

Shelby gasped, eyes wide with hurt and annoyance.

“It wasn’t on purpose! I tried to remove it but it was stuck!”

“Yeah, right! Maybe you tried to shoot me so I would be totally head over heels for you.”

A gasp again.

“How dare you assume I would go such length to make somebody love me!? And why would I want you of all people to love me?!”

“Dunno, maybe my natural charm had an effect on you.”

“Natural charm, my ass!”

“Now that you mention it, it really is a—”

There was a smack and a yell in pain but Riley wasn’t there to see what Shelby did to Chase. He’d already backed out of the room as quickly and as carefully as possible and didn’t run away so he would be as far from the whole team and as fast as he could.

Not at all.

*

He wasn’t angry at the dummy. No, really. He just had to practice since a new attack could come any day and he needed to be prepared. It had nothing to do with the stabbing pain in the pit of his stomach, nothing at all. And him slicing the dummy up with thoughtless movements as its parts were falling around the floor was a new technique he was coming up with and was absolutely not driven by hurt and frustration.

And the dampness on his face was a hundred percent made out of sweat and his sight was also blurred by exhaustion, because he had been doing this for an hour nonstop, and now that he was thinking about it, it was unlikely for Ms Morgan to not be here for such a long time. But it was a blessing really, since he didn’t want an audience right now. He needed distance and silence for a while. He couldn’t work on this new technique of his with any kinds of distraction.

Because this stupid dummy was so bad at distracting him from anything, even his own miserable thoughts, that he wanted to roar at it like some kind of wild animal, and tear it into tiny pieces with his bare hands—

“Riley.”

Hearing his name, Riley froze. He was so deep in his thoughts that someone managed to sneak up behind him. Or maybe they weren’t even sneaking, he was just too occupied to notice.

He quickly rubbed his eyes with his shirt and looked at the one calling him. Keeper was sitting on one of the chairs of the base, leaning on his staff like some kind of wizard. Well, he was kind of an ancient wizard now that he was thinking about it, all wise and mentorly.

“What’s troubling you? You seem,” he motioned with his staff towards the dummy, “frustrated.”

Riley looked back at the dummy. He made such a mess in only an hour. The dummy was almost cut in half and its parts were scattered around the floor of the base. He could already hear Ms Morgan’s disapproving voice upon seeing this mess.

Yeah, new technique…

Riley let out a long sigh and pinched the bridge of his nose. There was no way he could lie himself out of this. Keeper would know instantly he wasn’t telling the truth.

“It’s just…” He let out a sigh again and turned to Keeper. “Emotions suck.”

Keeper tilted his head.

“Which one in particular?”

Knowing that there was no way of backing out of this, Riley let out a sigh again and walked to the empty chair next to Keeper’s. He leaned on his hand, palm pressing against his forehead, and looked at his saber in the other. He only started talking after a few minutes of silence, and he appreciated that Keeper didn’t force him to speak.

“You know, there’s this feeling when you really admire someone and you always wonder if they feel the same way, or what would happen if they suddenly did. And forcing someone to have those feelings is fake and everything, but when they are under the influence of something that should make them have those emotions when they don’t… It shouldn’t make you be disappointed because it wouldn’t be true and all but I just…” Riley brushed his damp hair back, his hand only stopping on the back of his neck. “If not even that force can make them feel anything towards you, you have to wonder if they despised you that much in the first place that the force only made them feel neutral.”

Saying his fear out loud hurt more than he expected. It felt like the stabbing pain in his stomach suddenly sliced him open up to his heart and now he was miserably bleeding out.

His interactions with Chase never felt fake from the other’s part. Of course they had different opinions but he’d always thought they got over it months ago. That they had reached a mutual understanding and finally started to work together better. They teased the other, cared for each other, fought together as a team. He even—

But to think that maybe all the good was a lie hurt too damn much. What was he supposed to believe now?

From the back of his neck Riley put his hand back on his face so it would cover his eyes. He was so pathetic…

“Or maybe,” Keeper started with a gentle voice, “they can’t be forced to have feelings towards something when they already possess those emotions.”

And that…

That made Riley pause for a moment.

He looked up, hand sliding down his face to his mouth. His eyes were wide and he didn’t really care right now that Keeper could see them welling up with tears.

“Emotions are… How did you say? They truly suck.” Riley would’ve chuckle hearing Keeper saying that, but he was too stunned to do anything. “You immediately thought about the most negative explanation and forgot that there could be a positive one too. Sometimes emotions are obvious, easy to figure out, but I came to know humans as pessimistic creatures who sometimes can’t believe good things could happen to them too.”

Keeper put his hand on Riley’s shoulder.

“Do not despair when there’s no reason to. If there was no change in the behavior of the object of your affection, then those emotions were already there to begin with.”

Keeper patted Riley’s shoulder one last time before he stood up and left, leaving a stunned Riley behind whose wide eyes were still filled with tears, and whose mind was spinning a hundred questions.


End file.
